Mike Nadel: It's Sox-Twins in Game 163 -- of course

Tuesday

Sep 30, 2008 at 12:01 AMSep 30, 2008 at 11:21 AM

The Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins have responded admirably to adversity and pathetically to prosperity. They have taken turns losing when they should have won and winning when they should have lost.

Mike Nadel

The Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins have responded admirably to adversity and pathetically to prosperity. They have taken turns losing when they should have won and winning when they should have lost.

Major League Baseball calls what's taking place atop the AL Central a "race," but it's been more of a trudge through mud, muck, mire and mediocrity.

How fitting that these perfectly imperfect clubs will meet Tuesday night at Sox Park in a 163rd game, two days after the rest of baseball will have wrapped up its regular season.

"Both teams haven't played particularly well this month and either team probably should have locked it up way back when," said Sox left-hander John Danks, who will start on three days' rest with the division title on the line.

"It seemed every time we'd win they'd win and every time they'd lose we'd lose. It's just one of those things. Now we know it will be settled ... finally."

Typically, the White Sox did things the hard way Monday, when they pulled even with the Twins by defeating the last-place Detroit Tigers 8-2 in a rainout-makeup game.

The first pitch was delayed three-plus hours by rain, and drenched fans squirmed in their seats as their heroes fell behind a bunch of losers who would have rather been playing golf.

Sox starter Gavin Floyd gave a bulldog of an effort on three days' rest, but after he threw away a routine nubber back to the mound, the White Sox went into the bottom of the sixth inning trailing 2-1.

To that point, they were having trouble hitting soft-lobbing has-been Freddy Garcia - which doesn't bode well for the Sox if they do beat the Twins and advance to face the well-armed Tampa Bay Rays.

"I don't think we took the right approach to Freddy," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

Not until their ex-teammate took himself out of the game with shoulder stiffness after walking DeWayne Wise to start the sixth did the White Sox get going ... with plenty of help from the Detroit bullpen. Armando Galarraga and Bobby Seay combined to walk three batters and throw three wild pitches, letting the Sox tie the score, before Gary Glover entered to face Alexei Ramirez with the bases loaded.

"When they changed pitchers, Ozzie said to be patient," said Ramirez, who had been 0-for-13 on the homestand. "I hadn't hit the ball well, but I told Ozzie to have confidence in me: 'I'm gonna get these runners home somehow.'"

Somehow, yes. Patient, no.

He swung ferociously at Glover's first pitch, launching the baseball into the bleachers. Ramirez's fourth grand slam - a big-league rookie record - made it 6-2. Soon enough, Game No. 163 officially was on the schedule.

By winning a coin flip, the White Sox ensured the game would be in Chicago. Given how poorly each team has played in the other's ballpark - including a three-game Twins sweep at the Metrodome just last week - it might have been the most important coin flip in sports since the Houston Rockets won the right to draft Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984.

The game already is sold out, and the White Sox want fans to wear black so it's a "Sox Pride Blackout."

Regardless of how the fans dress, the outcome likely will be decided on the mound. Danks has a 7.91 ERA against the Twins while Nick Blackburn, who was ripped by Guillen despite beating the Sox last week, has a 5.67 mark against the Sox.

Translation: You might want to take the "over."

"It seems I either pitch really well against them or really bad," Danks said. "So check back in the third inning and you'll know exactly how I'm gonna do.

"I don't want to be the weak link, the guy that didn't get it done. There's a lot on my shoulders, yes, but I'm extremely confident. I know the magnitude of the game."

When it's over, there will be an AL Central champion. I mean, one of these teams has to win, right?

AWARD TIME

Here's one observer’s choices for 2008 MLB awards:

NL MVP: Ryan Howard, Phillies. Led baseball in homers and RBIs by wide margin and was awesome in September, when Phillies desperately needed him. Albert Pujols was great again but slumped during late losing streak that knocked Cardinals out of contention. Runners-up: Pujols, Manny Ramirez.

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